5 pieces necks vs 1 piece necks

Ralph khoury · #1 07-13-2005, 04:49 AM

Maybe its just me, but when i went to the local store to try the new ibanez shippment, and after A/B testing some 2005 guitars with 2002 ones, i came up to the conclusion that the new models felt lifless to me, they didnt have enough soul as the old ones. those 5 pieces are eating up a lot from the tone of the guitar. that was specially apparent between the 2005 UV and the 2002! i am going for 2002

GTR-MAN · #2 07-13-2005, 05:42 AM

I disagree. I have a 2003 VWH (one piece neck)and a 2005 BRMR (5 piece neck), and I love the tone I get from the BRMR. I love the look and feel of the new necks too. They look stronger to me too. I didn't have the same experience you did apparently. I wish my VWH had the 5 piece too, and my UV as well. To each his/her own .

chopvai · #3 07-13-2005, 07:22 AM

I have come to a conclusion that all jems are good

Tsorovan · #4 07-13-2005, 09:40 AM

Probably just psychosomatics.

Drew · #5 07-13-2005, 11:02 AM

that or maybe just a bad body or dead strings or something on the one you tried - there's SO much variation from chunk of wood to chunk of wood that I'd imagine 1 peice vs. 5 peice has a miniscule effect on tone.

The basic idea, though (play a few different UV's, and buy the one that speaks to you) is sound - go for the '02.

marianozz · #6 07-13-2005, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTR-MAN

I disagree. I have a 2003 VWH (one piece neck)and a 2005 BRMR (5 piece neck), and I love the tone I get from the BRMR. I love the look and feel of the new necks too. They look stronger to me too. I didn't have the same experience you did apparently. I wish my VWH had the 5 piece too, and my UV as well. To each his/her own .

I dont know if theres actually a noticeable difference... but if there is, hes comparing 7 string necks (real 5 piece), and youre comparing 6 strings (3 piece with tiiiiiiiny lil stripes)

in either case, i tend to agree with Drew

eelblack2 · #7 07-13-2005, 11:36 AM

There is a ton of variation from guitar to guitar even within the same Purchase Order/Shipment and even in some cases the with the same final setup tech at the factories. I worked in a very large music chain for over 10 years in a bunch of different locations and it was always interesting to see a batch of new guitars come in and you would find a few that were killer, some so-so and some kinda bleh out of each batch. I remember buying my first Les Paul Classic trying 8 from the same shipment and only one of them was smoking right out of the case for the first time. About 6 were average, and the last pretty much needed to be setup again from scratch. Could be shipping conditions - could be age of stock before it was shipped to us - could be materials - who knows there are so many variables.

A funny observation I made over the years is that you could tell what type of players were (guitar sales staff) in each store by what brand/type of guitars were set up the best. In technique-heavy stores the Ibanez/Jackson/ESP/Hamer/Washburn high end guitars were all set up smoking cause thats what the sales guys noodled on the most. In more contemporary or even vintage type guitar departments the Strats/Teles/Pauls/PRS's etc were all set up the best. You may find a similar situation as you go from store to store in your hometown.

I just realized the other day that I sold the very last New Green UV in the chain for something like 800 bucks way back when - I could kick myself for not buying it now lol.

Sorry to derail - was just trying to shed some light on why you may have seen a difference in performance as you tried different Ibanez's. It may not be completely the 5-piece neck as you suspected.

Lee

**jemsite** · #8 07-13-2005, 11:40 AM

I'd wager (even if you eliminate the overabundance of fx people use with JEMs) that any tonal difference between the 5 or 3 or 1-piece neck would be absolutely random and unreproducible in a double-blind study... glen

**jim777** · #9 07-13-2005, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jemsite

I'd wager (even if you eliminate the overabundance of fx people use with JEMs) that any tonal difference between the 5 or 3 or 1-piece neck would be absolutely random and unreproducible in a double-blind study... glen

+1
Stripes look cool, I'll give you that. They especially look cool on Alembic basses, which might have 11. That said, it only matters how it feels, and they rarely sound or feel as good as you'd like in a store brand new. Unfortunately, you almost always have to buy it and get it setup properly and break it in a little to tell what its potential might be. The 2005's might be godly in 2008, who knows?
I'd say get an older used one, and base your opinion on the feel of the neck and the natural sustain of the body. Then throw whatever pickups in it you want

invisible_kid_ · #10 07-13-2005, 04:49 PM

You know technically the one piece necks are two pieces- the headstock is stuck on the end lol. (Gotta love pedanticism hehehe)

eelblack2 · #11 07-13-2005, 05:54 PM

3 if you count the glued on fingerboard for the truly picky.......

invisible_kid_ · #12 07-14-2005, 06:52 AM

I hadn't thought of that lol

**jim777** · #13 07-14-2005, 10:47 AM

Fender made a lot of ONE piece maple necks in the very early 50's for the Broadcaster line, just one piece (fretboard, neck, head, the whole shebang). They all warped pretty quickly and typically didn't last more than 18 months before the factory had to replace them. I see Warmoth sell one piece macassar ebony strathead necks on occasion, but they are rare, and something like 500 bucks a pop. And holy crap are they gorgeous!

sugizo_esp · #14 07-14-2005, 10:48 AM

i duno about the tone...but the 05 5 piece neck with that supported heel sure feels heaps stronger thn the scarf joint + holes for the locks.....atlease it gives a more solid feel...i diffinitely go for 05 necks

eelblack2 · #15 07-14-2005, 12:09 PM

I know what you mean about those one piece ebony Warmoth necks - I have been tempted on more than one occasion - lol.

Fender also made quite a few strats with one piece maple necks and they really do sound different from the later glued on maple fingerboards. (Granted its really hard to compare apples vs. apples unless you are using the same body to do the sound comparison - and even then different densities of maple/variances of finish/fretwire etc may very well be coloring the comparison).

Lee